I must say, "Light and Ash" by Alan Bao has got to be one of the strangest flash fics I have ever read. That's not to say that it's one of the worst, it's just very different. The best way I can classify this story's quality is "moderate."
They don't teach you about this story's POV in school. In fact, I haven't heard about it anywhere. I guess it's the true POV is first, but the pronoun "you" is attached to one of the other characters, so really it's a blend of 1st and 2nd-person. Has anyone else ever read a story like this?
As far as characters go, these are decent. The main pair make great foils for one another. This story is, I suppose, a romance at its heart. It never hit me hard like the writer intended, but there may be personal reasons for that. It's semi-sweet only, to me.
I like the theory behind this story's plot structure. The conflict and tension rise until near the end when the climax hits, after which the conflict drifts in a lowish state in order to let the characters shine. I would have really liked more tie-in between the characters and the plot, but I'll take what I can get.
The dystopian setting in this story is a smidgen too dramatic, in my opinion. I would have liked a better build-up and background for the condition of the world in this setting. The application of the setting is good though.
I would recommend looking at this story just to study it. It's really unique, for better or for worst. Learn from it if you can.
No comments:
Post a Comment